Good morning!  Welcome to my Wednesday.  I like Wednesdays because I get to work from home.  I can have any distraction I want/need running in the background and still get my work done.

I started this blog, or re-started it to be more accurate, with the intention of writing at least once a week.   One month in and I’ve already fallen off the schedule.  No, I haven’t been super busy, just normal busy.  I think I am out of the habit of writing and need to get back to it.   I enjoy writing and sharing bits of my normal life.  There’s a vlogger I follow who shows the “messy sides of life” because as she says, “I’ve got nothing to lose and people need to be reminded that life is not perfectly organized shelves and spotless kitchens”

Hmm.  I’d settle for organized.  In that vein, it’s the time of year when I start to declutter cosets and drawers for the change in seasons.  I try to do this twice a year.  Last week I straightened out and cleaned my drawers and cabinets in the kitchen.  It took about half a day but I am happy with it.  Next week end I will be switching out our summer clothes for the winter ones.  I use that chore to clean out my drawers and closet and give away things that I do not wear.  I have a hard time letting things go.  My brain says, “but what if we want to wear that after we give it away?”.    I’ve been watching a few youtube videos about how we don’t need to feel bad if we don’t have all of the things that people show on the internet.  I think the important thing is to figure out what makes you happy and feel content and go for those things.

 I have a lot of bits and bobs of sock yarn in a container.  I saw this small granny square “scrap” blanket and thought I’d give it a try.  Mine looks wonky, I don’t crochet often and I’m not sure blocking will smooth this out.  I think I’ll put it aside and try a different hook size and maybe crochet a bit looser.  I like this method because you join the squares as you go along.  No sewing up.  It’s a bit fiddly and I think I need to practice a bit more to make it smoother.

I voted last week and am now giving myself permission not to pay attention to any more political ads, interviews, debates, news articles…..  It has become mentally exhausting.  The choice seems so clear and obvious to me.  One more month to go.

Speaking of time, 12 weeks from today is January 1, 2025.  There are only 12 weeks left in this year.  This year, like every year before it, has gone very fast.  You’d think we’d be used to it by now but no, we are not.  

There goes my dryer signal.  Time to move the clothes along.  Have a happy, peaceful and fulfilling week.

Good morning!  Happy Sunday.  I hope your day is going well.  It’s the last week of summer here and the weather is up and down and all over.  We haven’t had much rain lately and our garden was almost a complete bust.  We got a small handful of cherry tomatoes that were delicious but Pk planted so much more.  It all went to the local deer and rabbits.  Next year, we will try an electric fence.  It’s a last resort

A little while ago, we went to the Frankine Institute’s show, The Art of the Brick.  Legos, legos and more legos.  This is one of my favorites.  It could be modeled on my husband and I.  We are oldish and not in the best shapes of our lives but are still “upright and sucking wind”, (one of Pk’s favorite sayings).  We still like to hold hands when we walk and we definitely have the rolls….

The show was amazing.  What you can do with plastic bricks!  This is one of my favorites
It is called Decisions and is made with 112, 363 individual bricks.  I think a better name might be Hope.  The hands rising from below to touch the forms suspended above.  I can’t imagine how much time it must have taken.

I have a fondness for audio books.  Most books that I “read”, I download and listen to.  Chirp is a good service if you want an audio book and don’t want to join a subscription service or pay a lot of money.  Chirp has a daily email listing some bargains for the day.  They are usually older books or an author’s lesser known selections.  I have quite a collection.  At the moment I am listening to Here one Moment by Liane Moriarty.  I love her stories.  Big Little Lies is one of my favorites.  When I find an author I like, I look for their back list.  Most of the time, I am rewarded with new stories that I am already inclined to like.  That’s how I read all of Steven King’s books.  One after another.  I enjoy some more that others but am always entertained.

One of the things I like best about audiobooks is that I am a visual learner.  When I hear a story, I remember most of the story (or some bits of it) but often forget a lot of the details.  I can listen to them repeatedly and not be bored.  I mostly listen to fiction but a few non fiction books have caught my interest.  One is Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti et al.  It is a fascinating look at why people have favorite clothes and how we learn about fashion.  

This was an interesting week.  I had a routine dr appt and got my flu shot (I have to get one for work).  It knocked me off my feet.  I always have a strong reaction to vaccines.  Last year, I got a covid shot along with my flu shot and was a mess for a few days.

My oldest daughter will be 41 this week ( I KNOW I am not old enough to be her mom).  We are going to Green Dragon Farmer’s Market.  It’s supposed to be “the number 2 farmer’s market in the US” and only opened on Fridays.  I love a good farmers market!  This one is in Ephrata, PA which is the heart of Amish country so I know the baked goods and meats will be exceptional. It meant taking a day off of work but I think will be well worth it.  I’ll let you know!

I hope you have a good, satisfying week.

See you next week!

What you think on grows…..again

Hello!

How are you? 

This is me,

I am Donna Lee.  I am many things, a soon to be 67 year old woman, a wife of 43 years, a mother of 3 and a grandmother of one.  (I know, I know, I take terrible selfies). I haven’t written or posted a blog post in a few years.  I think the pandemic made me shy away from social media. Weird?  Yea, I know.  It drove or beckoned so many folks to take part and join the online community.  I have a new appreciation for those people and the work they put into their channels, websites and all their reels.  I still enjoy the slice of life posts where someone brings us along for their day.  I like seeing how other people live and what they think and what they believe is important.

Me?  To me, the most important thing is being my honest self.  I don’t edit photos or pretend to be someone I am not.  I am too old for that stuff.  I don’t mind turning 67 at all.  My body may mind some days more than others, but mentally and emotionally it’s cool.  I like the person I am now better than the person I was back in my 20’s.  I am kinder and less judgemental.  I can more easily appreciate someone else’s goodness or good fortune and not always wish it were mine.

I have been married since 1981 to my high school sweetheart and love of my life.  We seem to still enjoy each other’s company (and oddly finish each other’s sentences or say the same thing at the same time) and like doing some of the same things.  Only some.  We each have hobbies and interests that are separate.

He likes woodworking and gardening.  He is retired (because he’s a contractor and his contract was not renewed in 2020 and it was easier to retire than to continually send out resumes into the wind and not hear anything back.  Ageism is real).

I am still working.  I work as a social worker in behavioral health.  This involves working with psychiatrists to provide community mental health services in Philadelphia.  I have been doing the same job for 30 years. I look forward to retiring but have a few projects around the house that need to be taken care of.  I like to knit, spin, sew, read, cook, talk and watch sci fi and horror movies.  Godzilla minus one was so good!  Watching really bad movies is something my husband and I share.  We’ve seen some doozies recently.  The Shark Exorcist comes to mind…..

I have been reading an interesting book, Craft Psychology by Dr Anne Kirketerp.  It was just published in English.  

It is an interesting look at how craft (any kind of handicraft) can help calm a frazzled brain, help people become more relaxed and refreshed.  Her theory is that if you sit and do nothing all day, you are tired and restless at the end of the day, not refreshed because your brain goes to the “what if” place and it is usually not a positive place to spend the day.  If you engage in a craft that is challenging enough to require your attention but not so hard that you are sweating the details, your brain goes into a state she calls “flow”.  And that is what helps your whole being feel refreshed and renewed.  

She has the data to back up her theories and it makes for interesting reading.  I don’t think it’s earth shattering.  It’s an idea that I have had for a long time.  The peace that my mind feels when I sit at my spinning wheel and find my rhythmn, is real and not duplicated by anything else in my life.   I have been crafting my whole life.  I don’t know what people who don’t have hobbies do with themselves.

We used to have a Wellness Fair at work and I would always get the table devoted to leisure time activities.  I think a lot of the people who attended the fair didn’t necessarily think of my leisure activities as pertaining to health but they all took one of the small craft kits I put together for knitters, sewists or crocheters.  I have taught many of my clients over the years how to knit or crochet and several kept up with it.  In a few weeks I have a woman coming in for her appt with the dr and afterwards we are going to have lunch and I will teach her to knit.  I will get a beautiful skein of red yarn and some comfortable needles and show her how to get more “flow” into her life.

I have a case load of around 100 people at the moment.  It’s a lot.  Trying to keep up with them and making sure everyone gets what they need and gets the help they ask for is what keeps me busy.  I also run 2 groups a week in our Adult Day Program.  Leisure Activities (currently Bingo) and a Poetry group.

I like my job and I am good at it.  I don’t know how I will walk away when retirement beckons.  And I think I want to go back to posting here.  Not every day but hopefully every week and maybe twice a week.  I can be ambitious.

So, pull up a chair, take out your craft supplies and once we have all had our chance to find some inner peace, we can talk about it.

See you soon.

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year.I’m further along than this.  I have 2/3 of one sleeve to finish and then the washing, blocking and weaving in.  The yarn comes from a small collective in Mongolia.  It doesn’t feel like much in the ball but once it’s knit up, wow.  What a transformation.  I put it away for the warm weather and now I have the boring boring boring part of just plain knitting around and around....  I looked a long time to find a pattern that would work with my yarn.  I wanted enough design to make it interesting but not too much so that the yarn itself didn’t shine.  It’s too much to carry to work for my lunch time knitting or my knitting group, so I should be faithful and work on it at home every night until it’s done.  The operative word in that sentence is should.  

Friday night, Pk and I went on a date.  We had dinner and a concert of old folk singers.  The dinner was unforgettable but not because it was good.  The concert was wonderful.  Chris Eberhart, Patti Larkin, Cheryl Wheeler, John Gorka and Christine Lavin.  Not heard of them?  I’m not surprised.  They are singer/songwriters and they have stories to tell.  John Gorka is a NJ native.  He won the night with his song, “I’m from NJ”.  The chorus is, “I’m from NJ, I don’t expect too much.  If the world ended today, I’d adjust”.  Of course at a concert in NJ, that would go over well.  We were in a small, old theater which added to the charm.  We got lucky and the 2 seats next to me were empty and I could move over so we had some extra room.  The seats were close together and build for a population that was less broad in the beam.  It was interesting to be in an audience full of white haired people watching a stage full of white haired people.

Yesterday, I was productive.  All of the laundry got done and put away, the bathroom got cleaned and I spent a good part of the day cleaning our bedroom.  It really wasn’t a mess but we have a tendency to just put things on shelves and in the corner and eventually it piles up.  I cleaned up my little shelving unit of yarn/wips and what a difference.  I stirred up a lot of dust which made me sneeze.

I wanted things straightened up because I want to put some holiday things in our room as well as the rest of the house.  I ordered a duvet cover with snowflakes (we have a duvet and are waiting for our everyday cover to come.  It’s a new thing for us).  I also got a holiday shower curtain.  For some reason, I am feeling very holiday like this year.  I can’t wait to have Thanksgiving dinner and then perhaps go out to Lancaster for the day after to do some holiday food shopping.  That weekend will be decorating time.  

I slept for 10 hours last night.  I must have been more tired than I thought.  Today is a low energy day.  One of the ways I am always reminded that I am no longer 18 is that if I spend a day doing physical work, the next day is a slow day for me.  I don’t mind.  I watch movies, listen to books and knit or spin.  Today it’s Star Wars.  I can do the boring sleeve knitting and say the lines along with the characters.  

My car is back from the shop (again).  This time for a brake line.  Sigh.  It’s time to put it out to pasture and look for a newer car.  I really don’t want another car payment.  We have 2 years left on our Rav4.  It would be nice if my old car could last til then

.  Our grandson has decided that he is a superhero. He likes to have his blankets tied around his neck.  His mother thought she would be smart and made him a cape with some of his favorite fleecy material.  Does he use it as a cape?  Nope.  He goes for his blankets instead.  He is growing up so fast (I know, I know, they all do).  He’s a superhero to me.

Well, time to go back to my sleeve.  Soon it will be time to start the jambalaya for dinner.  A perfect dish for the cold grey day we are having.  

Have a superb week.

Guess who is 62 now?  That’s right, it’s this woman.  I wore my witch hat for Hallowe’en and my tunic with stars and had my familiar with me.  I enjoyed the day.  We had a party at work and then I came home and gave out candy to the few kids who came to our door.  There are fewer and fewer houses participating and fewer and fewer kids.  

We had a Chinese food celebration on Saturday night and the girls came for my birthday.  I got to introduce my grandson to fried dumplings and udon noodles with chicken.  He was more interested in playing with the noodles than eating them but he did a good job managing the little fork to pick them up.

Monday was my actual birthday and Elanor sent me flowers at work.  They’re just beautiful.  Daisies (one of my favorite flowers) and pink roses and pink polka dotted ribbon.  She knows me well.

We have begun the quick slide into the holidays.  I absolutely love this time of year.  I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner, even though it will be just 3 of us.  The number doesn’t matter, it’s the ritual of the baking of the pies, the making of the fruit relish and the baking of the cornbread for the stuffing.  I have one month to practice baking in our new oven.  It’s been a long time since I really worried about something splattering in the oven or boiling over on the stove.  Now, I feel honor bound to scrub all the messes up right away.  I know the time will come when we pay less attention to these things but the stove is still new and shiny.  

Our stove hood should be delivered next week and then we have to choose tile to go up on the wall behind it.  Slowly but surely, we are doing the things we’ve wanted to do but have not been able to since Pk’s job was not secure (it still isn’t secure but it’s less insecure now than it was before).  Being a contractor is not conducive to long range planning.  

We have to wait to see how Kate and Patrick want to work out the holiday visitation schedule.  James has 5 grandparents who would all like to be with him for Christmas morning.  There is just not enough room and it would be too much commotion with all of us and the dogs.  We figured, Kate will let us know what’s best for Jamie.  

I got Lindt chocolate advent calendars for the girls for December, Peter Kevin got one from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (it’s a pop up tree with 24 little birds to put on, one for each day) and I got a yarn advent calendar.  24 little skeins and then a pattern to use with them at the end.  

We wrapped up the fig tree and are putting the garden to bed for the winter.  There are 2,000 bulbs waiting to be planted for next spring.  Pk does not do things halfway......

One more hour and I can head home.  I have 10 more angels to finish for the ornament exchange and if I’m lucky, I’ll finish them today.  The crocheting is all done, just the assembling has to be done.  

Aren’t they adorable?  Otherwise, I have no firm plans for holiday knitting.  If I finish the Swedish Fish socks, I’ll wrap them up for Pk, I have some other things otn that may become gifts.  I haven’t done much spinning lately.  I think I might enjoy that for a while.

How about you?  Are you making plans?  Are you already in the midst of preparations?  Do you enjoy this time of year?

Bye for now!

Boo!

These scary things are on my front yard. We’ve been collecting the minions for a few years and the tree is a new addition.  (We have a great fondness for the minions).On the other side are these plastic jack-o-lanterns and real pumpkins.  They are colorful in the day and just a bit spooky in the darkThe light on the wall says Beware!  I love Hallowe’en and Peter Kevin loves decorating outside.  The outside is mostly his.  He asks for my opinion but then chooses what he wants to do.  I’m ok with that since all of the indoor decorating is to my taste.

Life here has been good.  The weather is getting cooler.  I wish my allergies would go into hibernation but some days they seem to be worse than they were all spring/summer.  I’ve been feeling tired and I am starting to think it’s the statin that my endocrinologist has started me on.  My cholesterol numbers are good but she thinks they should be lower because of the diabetes.  I reluctantly took the statin and for the last 6 weeks or so, I have felt lethargic no matter how much sleep I get.  I don’t like feeling like this and I looked it up online.  Sure enough, statins have a few minor side effects but one of them is increased fatigue.

I am going to stop taking it and see if it makes a difference.  I know she is only doing what she thinks is best for me but I don’t like feeling like I have no energy.  There are too many things to do!

Last weekend we took Jamie to Allaire State Park to go to the Flea Market and ride the Oak Creek RR.  The flea mkt was a hit.  He seemed to enjoy walking around and touching all the things (and talking to all the dogs because grandmom would not let him touch them).  Then he heard the train’s whistle.  Not really a whistle at all but an air horn.  Holy moly it was loud and jarring and his poor 19 month old self couldn’t handle it.  No train rides this year.  Maybe next time.

Peter Kevin and I went to Smithville for our 38th anniversary brunch.  It was elegant and delicious as usual.  We walked around a little and then hit the flea mkt of a small town on our way home.  I bought something I’ve never seen before, a wooden folding rocking chair.  It’s small and low to the ground but really clever.  I want to clean it up some and put new fabric on the seat and back.

I am loving our new fridge and now we are on the lookout for a new stove and then a dishwasher.  We figured we should probably get the appliances while Peter Kevin is still working.  I’ve never bought new appliances before the old ones broke down before and it’s been interesting.  I like shopping and examining all of the various models.    And then we look at cabinets and try to decide what we want our kitchen area to look like.  

I got my hair cut last week and I love it.  It’s rather short and I’m thinking of asking Kate to put some color on it.  It’s so easy to take care of.  I do miss my curls but it could be worse.  

Well, off to an All Staff Meeting (not usually very exciting but mandatory).  Happy Wednesday!

Good morning and Happy Friday!  I am sitting at my desk and eating some soda bread I made in March.  I found it while I was transferring the food from the old fridge to the new one.  I always make 4 or 5 loaves and freeze or give away all but one.  We take them out once in a while and slather them with butter.  Mmmmmmm.

Peter Kevin has managed to catch Jamie's cold (you will remember we had him most of last weekend).  This is unusual.  I am the one that usually catches whatever germs/viruses happen to be near.  I have not gotten sick.  My arm is sore from my mandatory flu shot though.

Peter Kevin had jury duty yesterday.  I don't know anyone that says "Yay! Jury duty!".  I have been called for federal level jury duty and local and state.  I don't really mind it but the waiting around to be called or to be sent home is so boring.  Our local court is in a neighborhood I am not familiar with and looks a bit sketchy.  He didn't get called and got sent home at 11:30.  Not a bad thing and he got to rest so he could go to work today.  When you are a contractor, you only get paid if you work.

We have one of those weekends coming up that has no scheduled activities.  We will get the old refrigerator out of the living/dining room and put it into its new place in the downstairs area next to the chest freezer.  It will come in handy during the holidays when I am looking for a large space to defrost a turkey or hold extra cold beverages.  The new fridge is so shiny.  Everything is in its place inside.  I give it 2 weeks before things are all over the place.

I have vague plans to switch out the summer/winter clothes and I want to put up the Fall decorations.  Inside the house, these things are mostly orange and brown.  The girls used to call it "getting out the orange stuff".  Outside, it involves finding placement for the 8' dragon, 10' Hallowe'en tree and 3 3' minions in costumes.  Yes, I am afraid we have become THAT family.  We have inflatable decorations for most holidays (including an inflatable Peep for Easter).

One of the things I like about it is that from now until January, our house will be decorated.  Usually by the time I take down the Christmas decorations, I am tired of all the things on all the surfaces and look forward to our everyday stuff.

One weekend soon, we have to clean out the rec room area.  We use it as a basement, mostly for storage.  I also have to clean up the craft room.  It is a disaster and it get on my nerves if I have to go in there for something.  I think I'm going to have to do one of those things where I set a timer for 15 minutes and do it in stages.  Otherwise, it will never get cleaned up.

Well, that's about it for my part of the world.  Once again, I have managed to prattle on for a full page without saying anything.  But, since it's Friday, here are a few things I am thankful for this week:

-cooler temperatures

-crock pots

-soccer games on television

-sneakers

-trees that change color and evergreens that provide some of the only color all winter long.

How about you?  What are you thankful for?  Have a great weekend.